An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 1: The Mighty Atomic Prelude (The 50's and 60's)
Welcome to An Abbreviated History of Mecha anime. Today, we're starting at, as Fraulein Maria would say, at the very beginning. We're taking a quick peak at the beginning of the canon, which means that we're starting back in 1950 (specifically 1952). I should also confess right now: there are two series on here that are demonstrably NOT mecha shows. However, due to their sheer influence on Japanese media as a whole, I feel it is important to bring them up as being honorary mecha shows due to their sheer influence pop culture.
Tetsuwan Atom/Mighty Atom/Astro Boy (1952)
Starting us off is Osamu Tezuka's seminal manga series, Mighty Atom. Known over here in the west as Astro Boy, this series would be what kickstarts a lot of the modern anime and manga industry due to its sheer popularity. Astro Boy would also be one of two series that would be emblematic of how Japanese pop culture would portray the recent use of atomic energy. It should also be worth noting that realizing that Astro technically is a mecha is what got me to start using a broader definition of mecha instead of the classic giant robot definition.
Due to its fame, Mighty Atom has receive multiple adaptations throughout the years. Of note are:
The original 1963 anime.
New Mighty Atom (1980) which updates the series to 1980's animation standards.
The 2003 anime, which does the same, but to the standards of early 2000's anime.
The 2009 CGI movie.
Gojira/Godzilla (1954, honorary mecha series 1)
1954 would also give us Ishiro Honda's Godzilla, the movie that would make tokusatsu-styled live action stories in Japan. Godzilla, alongside RKO's King Kong, would play a large part in popularizing the concept of kaiju. And boy will kaiju play a big part in the history of the mecha canon. As we'll see soon enough, the history of tokusatsu heroes, kaiju, and robots are all intertwined with one another.
Godzilla has starred in numerous movies since the original, but for stories based off of the original there are:
Godzilla Raids Again (1955), a direct sequel.
Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: All Out Monsters Attack (2001), a Heisei-era production that uses the original '54 Godzilla as a manifestation of the horrors of World War II.
Shin Godzilla (2016), a re-imagining of the original movie set in contemporary times directed by Hideakki Anno.
Godzilla Minus One (2023), the most recent outing inspired in part by GMK.
Tetsujin 28-go/Gigantor (1956)
(Oh hey, this gif again!)
Tetsujin 28-go is the creation of one Mitsuteru Yokoyama and is generally regarded as the grandfather of the giant robot style of mecha. Tetsujin is unique amongst mecha in that it is controlled not by a pilot riding inside of it, but by a little kid with a controller. Tetsujin 28, alongside Mazinger Z, would help to codify a lot of the tropes common to the classic superhero mecha anime that would be prevalent in the 70's. Like Mighty Atom, Tetsujin would receive multiple adaptations throughout the decades.
Shin Tetsujin 28-Go/The New Adventures of Gigantor (1980), which updates Tetsujin's design to look more in line with something like Mazniger Z.
Tetsujin 28-go FX (1992), sporting a radically different look that's more akin to something out of the Brave Franchise.
Tetsujin 28 (2004), a faithful adaptation of the original manga (at least I think it is) directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa.
Cyborg 009 (1964)
Created by Shotaro Ishinomori in 1964, Cyborg 009 is another classic human-sized mecha series. Cyborg 009 would be the first of many hits for Ishinomori, and he will be mentioned again later in this series.
Oh boy... I am not a Cyborg 009 nut, but in terms of adaptations, Cyborg 009 has:
The 1966 Film
The 1980 Film
009 Re:Cyborg (2012)
The Call For Justice Trilogy (2016)
The 1968 Anime
The 1979-1980 Anime
The 2001-2002 Anime (I actually remember when Toonami aired this series!)
Cyborg 009 vs Devilman (2015 OVA)
If you want to follow someone who follows a lot of Shotaro Ishinomori's works, I'd recommend checking out YouTuber Mercury Falcon for more info about Ishinomori.
Ultra Q and Ultraman (1966, honorary mecha series 2)
(The urge to use a gif of Ingraman is strong)
Ultra Q and Ultraman are the first two entries of Tsuburaya's legendary Ultra franchise, with the latter in particular being one of the most famous pop culture icons of all time. Ultraman's influence on Japanese media is so large, that I'll be mentioning it at least once in relation to other series later on.
Ultraman, like Godzilla before him, would get the Hideaki Anno treatment with Shin Ultraman in 2022.
Giant Robo/Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967)
Another one of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic manga series, Giant Robo deserves a mention due to its influence on tokusatsu. Giant Robo would usher in an era of tokusatsu that would rely on using giant robots as the main protagonist.
In terms of adaptations, there are two animated adaptations, but only one will be listed here:
GR: Giant Robo (2007)
If you want to learn a little bit more about the history behind Giant Robo, I'd recommend checking out blunova's video on Giant Robo for more info on this important series.
Conclusion
As the 60's would lead way into the 70's, we would see a lot more live action tokusatsu series involving giant robots. Of course, this would be untenable due to how expensive it was to do tokusatsu effects for television. However, one robot would appear in animation that would change everything.
(Read in the voice of Tessho Genda) AND ITS NAME IS...!!!!
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So one of the coolest bits of animanga ephemera that I own is probably these two volumes of the Epic Comics printing of AKIRA.
In 1988, American comics publishers were starting to take notice of the growing popularity of Japanese animation, and Marvel wanted a slice of the pie. A few years earlier, they had made the Epic Comics imprint to run more adult stories free of Comics Code censorship, including both standalone titles and non-canonical spinoffs of their more popular characters. The fledgling imprint seemed like the perfect place for a slice of that cool, weird Japanamation pie. They set their sights on Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA, which had done well in Japan and was set to get film adaptation that year. The editor of Epic at the time felt that the disaffected youth, psychic powers, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting would be familiar enough touch points to make the series resonate with American readers.
However, Epic didn't think that American comics readers would be as drawn to something that read "backwards" and was black and white. So, they did what would become the standard for many years- they flipped the pages to read left-to-right. They then enlisted colorist Steve Oliff to create a full-color version of AKIRA. While it's easy to jump to thinking of this as a butchering of the original work, Otomo was actually fully on board, as he wanted his work to reach as many people as possible. Otomo collaborated with Oliff directly at first, flying out to meet with him and share some of his personal desires for the coloring. He had some initial color guides, stills from the as-of-yet unreleased movie, and a deep passion and desire for his work to do well in the west. For the first five or six issues, Oliff sent all of his colorings off to Otomo for approval, but after that, Otomo was pleased enough that he gave Oliff free reign to go with his instincts for the rest of the comic's run. The colored version was even re-licensed, flipped back to the Japanese order, and released in Japan! I've never seen any copies of that, but I bet it's cool as hell!
I got these as a Christmas present sometime in the mid '00s from my Aunt Ing and Uncle David, who knew I liked anime and manga, but knew absolutely nothing about the stuff. They picked them up at a garage sale in DC for pocket change, and gave them to me along with a second hand copy of the DEVILMAN live action movie from 2004. I clearly remember them saying something along the lines of "Here, I hope you like this! We know you like that manga stuff. Hopefully 'Akira' isn't Japanese for like hardcore donkey porn or something, hahaha!" ...As if you couldn't flip the book open and see what was in it for yourself, Uncle David?
(Also worth noting that I had already seen the Akira movie at this point, so it's not like I didn't know what I was getting into!)
The manga (and the not-long-after release of the anime) made AKIRA a hit in the states. The Epic Comics run split the series into 38 issues that ran from 1988 to 1994. However, the legacy of Epic's colored run has an influence outside of just helping to introduce this iconic series to American readers.
It was also one of the first digitally colored comics.
Oliff and his company, Olyopitcs, were pioneers in using digital coloring methods. While he made initial color guides on paper versions of the pages using traditional methods like pantone films and paint, the finalized versions were all colored digitally, allowing for a wide, rich range of colors. This style of coloring incentivized Marvel to print it on slightly higher quality paper, and the series' success made Marvel more interested in looking to computers as a way to enhance their art and workflow. Perhaps he overstates it a bit, but Oliff credits his Eisner award-winning run as the colorist for AKIRA as the turning point for digital art's acceptance in comics.
It's unlikely that the colored version of AKIRA will ever be re-released, as the rights that Marvel held have LONG since traded hands, first to Dark Horse and then back to Kodansha. Copies of the colored version of AKIRA are hard to come by and pricy now, ranging from $10-100 for a single issue on eBay depending on condition and what particular issue it is (climactic issues are obviously more expensive than more laid back ones). It's not completely out of the question that it'll see the light of day again, however; Oliff still has all the digital files of the colored version of AKIRA, and he has expressed that he would be more than happy to have them reprinted if Kodansha wished to.
If not, though, I still have my two issues, and a very cool piece of anime localization history.
Historical info for this post was fact checked/sourced from this Japan Times article from their 30th anniversary retrospective and this 2016 ANN interview with Oliff. Feel free to check them out if you want to know more!
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Due to character limits, this will just be names of my OCs. You can get more information by clicking this link. I welcome nearly any question about my silly mary sues.
Adventure Quest: Chalia
Akira: Kuroda Emi
ATLA: Rimon Suu
Big Bang Theory: Alex Munroe
The Big Chill: Veronica Heather
Big Hero Six: Mati Spence, Masuyo Smith
Bleach: Chikako Aizen, Hotaru Kurosaki, Halcyon Boosalis
Buckaroo Banzai: Sage Spence
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Isolabella Dawson
Cats & Dogs: Aurora Lee Phantasm
Chainsaw Man: Moe Nagamine
Channel Awesome: Avalon SexehTwilight Mary Sue, The Black Widow
Charlie the Unicorn: Jenniffer the Pegasus
Cowboy Bebop: Hazel Prince
Cyberpunk 2077: Himiko Otomo, Vidya "V" Zenith
Danganronpa: Sumire "Owlyn Srebrenka" Hino
Deadly Premonition: Absinthe Maidstone Stonewall MacShakeit, Abigail Maidstone
Death Note: Katherine "K" Kilgore, Melusine "Meruko" Badeaux, Sora Kurohoshi, Jezebel Blackheart, Mitsune Sakura
Devil May Cry: Beatrice Lacrimae, Lavinia Sparda-Amata
Devilman: Astraroth "Astra"
Digimon: Hana Otogi
Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Moemi Saiki
Dragon Age: Coriander Tabris, Craig Cousland, Dove Surana, Lieselotte Brosca, Princess Aeducan, Lovewave Lavellan
Dragon Ball: Remin, Unshiu
Earth Girls Are Easy: Andromevak "Andy"
Eltingville Club: Seraphim "Sera" Herrera
Fallout: None, Nothing
Fate: Cosette Everild-LaAnimus, Delphine Everlid-LaAnimus
Final Fantasy: Jehfa Fakthu
Fire Emblem: Briar, Delshad, Dreamer, Euphemia, Florian Gloucester, Historia, Marguerite Ciar, Primrose Gloucester, Solanine, Wander
Free!: Akira Hanamura
Friday the 13th: Lynn Curtis
Ghostbusters: Aisling Redhead (2016), Aisling Redhead (1986)
Goosebumps: Rosalind "RL" Greene
Gorillaz: Clotilda Culpepper
Grand Budapest Hotel: Cvetka Kovacs
Gundam: Atlus Darkwater, Nnyley Romantica
Halloween: Alice Linklater, Bijou Hart, Brianna Willow-Winters, Dolores Orth, Jason Lee Cranston, Lynn Curtis, Moon n Stars Morris
Harry Potter (All created when I was in middle and high school. This was before JK Rowling shat her diaper. I do not condone Joanne and her hateful bullshit and just wanted to share OCs I made as a kid.) : Akemi Akiyama, Cassandra Finnegan, Harmony Dumbledore, Jaycelynn "Jacky" Lavgine, Kendra Pepper
Independence Day: RL Stineler
Inuyasha: Aihime, Kiki (2004), Kiki Shiina, Usagi Hinode
Jennifer's Body: Christie Fatt Cox
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Fiori Stelline, Jonah Joestar-Angelakos, Kanon "Eileen Diamandis" Shiina, Otome Tanaka, Passion Angelakos, Sakuro Gackt-Myers, Stephanie McCormick
Jujutsu Kaisen: Chidori "Chitose" Iori
Jurassic Park: Anna Rose Morgan, Gillian Mayham, Jen Morris, Joy Tootoosis, JT Malcolm, Marina Malcolm, and Miharu Hamano
Kingdom Hearts: Kitana, Nerissa
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Dazzle Kovacs
The Lorax: Cipher, Avalon and Story
Mario: Princess Velvet
Marvel: Allie N Blumsford, Genesis, Jamie Johnson, Jocasta "Cipher" Macbeth, Makelsolakveder, Zelda Kirkness
Mass Effect: Adette Shepard
Metalocalypse: Maiko "Manko Kechaman" Roberts
Mortal Kombat: Amaya, Emberlynn Augus, Feather Dance, Stryker's Dad, Kandace Stryker, Laytanya Moore, Marina "Monsoon", Kirke
My Hero Academia: Rin Amamiya, Kirameki Sarashina, Youmu Yumemite
Naruto: Akiko Haruno, Asuka Hatake, Hoshiyo Kanmuri, Kazuma Hanamori, Subaru Kanmuri
The Office: Cam Keeper
One Punch Man: Sumika Nagisa
Ouran High School Host Club: Bunko Matsushima, Ryunosuke Kanagawa
The Outsiders: Josephine "Joey" Wiehler, Serenity "SW" Wiehler, Sincerity Travis
Passengers: Dr. Galaxy Pepper
Persona: Jun Adachi, Junya Daidara, Marina, Momoka Mishima, Minako Iori, Sayaka Sakamoto, Stephanie McCormick, Tomoko Nakajima, Hamuko Arisato, Minako Arisato, Rin Amamiya, Yuka Narukami
Pokemon: Amanda, Altreis, Catalina, Dolores "Lolita-chan", Emilia, Isobel "Izzy", Galan, Gabrielle, Gelato, Medee, Muffy, Paloma, Pycal, Tila, Twinkle, Wasabon
Power Rangers: Emi Johnson, Dawn "Milky" Garson, Jacintha Cranson-Park, Lady Johnson, Lady Johnson (2017), Octavia Clearwater, Serena Ryder, Tamsin "Tami" Oliver, Thomas "Tommy" Oliver, Wednesday Neckoway, Yumeko Takahara, Ashton Redhead, Derek Ng, Jaiden Lawliet, Lux Cranston, Morgan Valentine, Nicholas DuBois, Scout Park, Saintan
Rance: Aellae, Ashelotte, Desu, Cosmia
Resident Evil: Ianthe Hawke
Rise of the Guardians: Eros
Riverdale: Winona "Sodapop" Bighetty
Sonic: Blossom, Purple, Jeff, Mango, Mist
SPY x Family: Lyubov
Stardew Valley: Stella
Star Wars: Hiak Ray "Talarth"
Steven Universe: Imperial Topaz, Nokomis Queens
Stranger Things: Heather Ranger
Street Fighter: Neroli
Sugar Sugar Rune: Akiko Sakura, Cerise Incroyable, Sugar Graves
Tezuka: Daiya Mondo, Melody Serendipity
Tokyo Ghoul: Teruko Yumemiya
Touken Ranbu: Kanon Tachibana, Momoe Tachibana, Tokiko Minami
Transformers: Carly Rae Jepsentron
Twin Peaks: Eden Hill
Until Dawn: Moon n Stars Morris, Rosario Hicks
View Askewniverse: Artoo "Ari" Hicks, Alyce Linklater, Bijou "Rhapsody" Hart, Jaycelynne "Squall" Thiffault, Nova Phoenix
Voltron Legendary Defender: Forever, Harper Thiffault
XIN: Myth
YuGiOh: Aikako Hisahama, Airi Sarahi, Hitomi Nakajima, Hotaru Tenjouin, Jason Trudeau, Jaycelynn Trudeau, Kairi Sarahi, Masuyo Tachibana, Momoe Yukimura, Naomi Sarahi, Ringo Hinagiku, Raven Sarahi
YuGiOh GX: Ai Yuki, Aika Hana, Anais Kuroda, Anastasia Rosseau, Emi Jounouchi, Hitomi Nakajima (GX), Jaycelynn Rosseau, Kaori Tenjouin, Katsuro Jounouchi, Marina Mikan, Naomi, Soul Yagami, Yuudai Yuki, Kaori Torimaki, Koden Saotome, Moira Tenjouin
YuGiOh 5Ds: Barbie O'Neil
YuGiOh ARC V: Shinju Sawatari
Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Pepper Culpepper
Crossovers: Jaycelynn Yuki, Aqua Marine, Desu
In History, Maybe - A coming-of-age story starring Hazel Nylan and her on-again-off-again girlfriend, Stephanie McCormick just trying to make it in the third biggest “city” in Manitoba.
Hazel Nylan , Stephanie McCormick
Nobody of the Luck - A fantasy-isekai story about depressed popular boy getting sucked into a fantasy themed eroge called Nobody of the Luck and saving the world by accident.
Tristan Stark, Aellae, Freya
Fractured Faerie Tales - Tristan is sucked into yet another eroge, this time its fairy tale themed.
Tristan, Cendrillion
RandoRanger - A team of spandex technicolour clad heroes are here to defeat the hentai tentacle monsters!
Masuyo Kusanagi, Ryota Matsuda
Starry Starry Night - Akiko Valentina constantly wished that she’d take that advice to heart for once in her life. Growing up, it seemed like every wish she’d make would come true. Life should’ve been a breeze… and it was for a while. Her family had won the lottery a few years ago, along with her mother’s seaweed gin distillery taking off which brought the Valentina Family even more fortune. Classes would be cancelled, boys asked her to the dance, her favourite TV shows would suddenly be back even when they were cancelled whenever she seemed to will it. Though, like a bad 90s kids horror series, there was always a cruel twist at the end.
Now living alone in the penthouse apartment her now dead family’s fortune got her, Akiko spends her free time overindulging herself in luxury, to distract herself from the dark. Things had gotten stale after two years of spoiling herself rotten.
“I wish something would happen in my boring life.”
One night, she’s approached by a stranger on the way home from partying…
Amber “Akiko” Valentina, Akira Angelus, Blair Princeton, Charles Broadmoor, Cheyenne Princeton, Fafnir, Gaylene, Kirk Grimme, Nyarou, Thorn
Fairy Ring - A small town on the border of southern Manitoba that hides some magical secrets.
Antigone, “Kisecawchuck”, Dorothy, Carly, David Young, Abigail Maidstone
Roseburough - A city with a dark past–its first settlers were a group of cultist for a demon of lust–that has a proclivity for less than pure activities.
Amelie, Anita Wood, Aurora, Circe, Dani Michaels, Daniel Michaels, Eitaro Satou, Emiri Satou, Genesis “Genni” Jones, Joey Spence
Eidolons and Eudaemonia -Eudaimonia is a world where each country worships a particular element. Each country has a temple and a candle that must be lit at all times to prevent a calamity. Its said that the candles represent hope, the one thing that kept ‘humanity’ going after the first calamity. Every few centuries, new candles must be created and infused with magic and blessings from each country before being placed in the temples and lit. It’s a ritual that has been carried on long before the formation of the Church of the Star Bringer, which eventually took control of candle duties.
Team Disatisfaction: Anita, Arlis, Milk, Opal, Rubia, Vesta, The Artist
Lovewave
The Demon Lords: Lovena
Kuroi
Mizuka
Magical Flower Maidens: Anemone, Cassiane, Ione, Renthe, Sayuri, Zinnia
Tristan's Party: Tristan, Akihime, Plum and Peaches.
Story-less OCs:
Stephanie "Desu" McCormick, Stephen "Boku" McCormick, Aisling McCormick
Rhubarb
Mermaid Squad: Arctic, Sea Bunny, Goffik
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